Briefs

ABSTRACT

Briefs or bathing trunks are constructed to have an improved fit on the wearer by being made of four panels of which two are of complementary shape and provide the front and part of the sides of the briefs, the third panel provides a crotch panel, and the fourth panel of generally Y-shape provides most of the seat of the briefs and also the entire waistband. Curved seams connect the fourth panel to the other three panels and the use of upright seams at the sides of the briefs is avoided entirely.

United States Patent [1 1 Belpaume [451 Mar. 26, 1974 BRIEFS [76]Inventor: Charles H. Belpaume, l3

Bouc-Bel-Air (Bouches-du-Rhone), France [22] Filed: Jan. 14, 1972 [21]Appl. No.: 217,870

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 5, 1971 France 7129297 [52]U.S. Cl 2/67, 2/224 A, 2/238 [51] Int. Cl A4ld 7/00 [58] Field of Search2/224 A, 224 R, 225, 226, 2/238, 67, 227

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3.654.634 4/1972 Torres2/224 A 2,898,918 8/1959 Roura et al. 2/224 A X Primary Examiner-H.Hampton Hunter Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert E. Burns; Emmanuel J.Lobato 5 7 1 ABSTRACT Briefs or bathing trunks are constructed to havean improved fit on the wearer by being made of four panels of which twoare of complementary shape and provide the front and part of the sidesof the briefs. the third panel provides a crotch panel, and the fourthpanel of generally Y-shape provides most of the seat of the briefs andalso the entire waistband. Curved seams connect the fourth panel to theother three panels and the use of upright seams at the sides of thebriefs is avoided entirely.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEBHARZB m4 SHEET 2 [IF 2 BRIEFSBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to garments known asbriefs which terms is to be understood as including swimming trunks aswell as abbreviated pants. The present invention is equally applicableto either garment.

Open front briefs are known having a front opening in the form of avertical slit providing a direct passage. This slit is commonly providedwith a vertical baffle formed by the juxtaposition of two vertical edgeportions of a'front cup or fly portion, one of the edge portions beingnormally equipped with buttons and the other with button holes forclosing the front cup.

Briefs are also known in which a crotch panel is extended and its sidesarranged to converge towards a central point at the front of a waistbandto which it is sewn. The anterior portion of the front cup consists of asingle element which is not sewn to the crotch panel but forms a passagebetween this crotch panel and the part of the front cup facing the same.This passage is extended outwards by at least one upper oblique side ofan extension of the crotch panel not sewn on to the median front portionof the front cup.

Low-cut briefs having a closed front cup are also known. This form ofbrief commonly consists of four parts. The first covers the entirebuttocks of the wearer. Two vertical panels joined together by avertical seam in the middle front part, provide the central frontportion of the briefs. These parts are joined at each side by a seam,for example of the whipped or overcast type. A crotch tab or panel issewn to the above parts and completes the external shape of the briefsThe central front portion of the briefs has a floating lining joined tothe central seam at its middle and connected to leg borders at thecommencement of the crotch panel. In pants or trunks of this kind,different arrangements of vertical and horizontal sea n 1s are used tojoin the panels to one another but in all cases the back of the briefsconsists of a single panel only.

Briefs of the above type but without lateral seams and thus resulting ina more moulded overall shape, are also known.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is the provision ofan improved construction of briefs.

Irlacctfiance the present invention there is provided briefs constructedwith a rear panel of generally Y-shape with concavely curved side andtop'edges and arranged to cover the central portions of the wearer'sbuttocks, the top edge portion of the Y having a fold or hem extendingaround the waistband of the briefs and the stem of the Y extendingdownwards towards the rear end of a crotch panel whose front end isjoined to two complementary side panels joined to one another along anupright front seam and having concavely curved upper edges joined bycurved seams to the curved side edges of the rear panel.

The arrangement of the curvilinear seams joining the rear panel to thefront panels improves the fit of the briefs on the wearer. Moreover, byvirtue of its particular cut, it is easy to produce the briefs.

IN THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in more detail,

by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a rear view of a wearer wearing briefs and shows theirconstruction;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the wearer showing the front construction ofthe briefs; and,

FIG. 3 shows in exploded plan view the shapes of various panels used inthe construction of the briefs.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The briefs 1 have a closed frontand have a rear panel 2 of generally Y-shape, which is symmetrical inthe flat condition with respect to an axis xy in FIG. 3. This panel 2has the stem of the Y terminating in a concave edge 2a and a top edge 2band side edges 2d and 26 which are also concave. The arms of the Yprovide two opposed strips 3 and 3a which provide a complete waistband 6of the briefs. The upper marginal edge of the Y-panel is folded over andsewn to provide a hem or waistband casing 7 for an elastic waistband orbelt holding the briefs on the waist of the wearer.

As shown in FIG. 1, the briefs have two complementary side panels 8, 9of complementary shape and partially shown in FIG. I. They are alsosymmetrical with respect to the axis xy of FIG. 3. The panels 8 and 9have convex edges 8a, 9a which, when sewn together, provide an uprightfront seam parallel to the axis of symmetry, and convexly curved edges8b, 9b extending from one pair of ends of the edges 8a, 9a, and curvingprogressively inwards and upwards. Rectilinear edges 80, 90, startingfrom the other pair of ends of the edges 8a, 9a terminate at the ends offurther concavely curved edges 8d, 9d having upwardly facing concavitiesand extending from the edges 8c, 9c to the curved edges 8b, 9b, whichrespectively meet at points.

The briefs are completed by a crotch panel 10 shown in FIG. 3, andhaving a straight edge 10a at the front of the crotch, a convexly curvededge 10b at the rear of the crotch, and two side edges 10c, 10d, whichhave Vee-shaped cut-outs.

ASSEMBLY The briefs are constructed from the above described panels asfollows.

The side panels 8 and 9 are sewn together at their edges 8a, 9a toprovide a straight vertical seam 11 as shown in FIG. 2. They are thensewn to the rear panel along curved seams l2 and 13 formed by stitchingthe edges 8b and 2c together and the edges 9b and 2d together. Theseseams l2 and 13 extend at buttock level across the back of the briefsthus considerably improving their fit. The panels 8 and 9 provide withtheir edges 8d, 9d the major parts of the perimeter of the leg borders,the minor parts being formed by the edges 10c and 10d of the crotchpanel 10. The transversal edge 10a of the crotch panel 10 is then sewnto the edges 8c, of the side panels 8 and 9 along a seam 14 at the frontof the crotch (FIG. 2), and its concave edge 10b is sewn to the convexedge 2a of the rear panel 2, along a seam 15 (see FIG. 1). The panels 8and 9 are also joined at opposite end-portions of the side 2b to thewaistband of the briefs by a seam 16 disposed at the central frontportion of the briefs.

The crotch panel 10 is covered by a lining over its entire innersurface. In similar manner, the inner surface of the middle part of thefront surface of the briefs is lined, preferably with a fabric lining ofthe same type and forming an approximate diamond shape 17 with the legborders 14 and 15. The top edge of the lining is sewn to the frontcentre of the waistband 6 and its lower adjacent sides are sewn to theleg borders 8d and 9d. The vertical diagonal of the lining is sewn tothe seam 1 1 while the upper sides 17a and 17b are left free.

I claim:

1. Briefs comprising a Y-shaped rear panel having a stem covering thebuttocks of the wearer and arms defining a waistband, a crotch pane]having a front edge and a rear edge sewn to a lower edge of the stem ofthe rear panel, and two complementary side panels each a mirror image ofthe other disposed symmetrically and joined along a generally verticalfront seam and sewn to the front edge of the crotch panel and to thearms of the rear panel for substantially the full length of said armsdefining the front of the briefs.

2. Briefs according to claim 1, in which the Y-shaped rear panel armshave concave edges merging smoothly with concave side edges of saidstem, and said side panels having concave edges defining jointly withthe concave edges of the rear panel openings for the legs of the wearer.

3. Briefs according to claim 2, in which said arms of the rear panelcomprise a fold defining said waistband.

4. Briefs according to claim 3, in which said side panels each haveconvex surfaces joined to said waistband, and in which said arms of saidrear panel define a concave edge along an upper edge of said waistband.

1. Briefs comprising a Y-shaped rear panel having a stem covering thebuttocks of the wearer and arms defining a waistband, a crotch panelhaving a front edge and a rear edge sewn to a lower edge of the stem ofthe rear panel, and two complementary side panels each a mirror image ofthe other disposed symmetrically and joined along a generally verticalfront seam and sewn to the front edge of the crotch panel and to thearms of the rear panel for substantially the full length of said armsdefining the front of the briefs.
 2. Briefs according to claim 1, inwhich the Y-shaped rear panel arms have concave edges merging smoothlywith concave side edges of said stem, and said side panels havingconcave edges defining jointly with the concave edges of the rear panelopenings for the legs of the wearer.
 3. Briefs according to claim 2, inwhich said arms of the rear panel comprise a fold defining saidwaistband.
 4. Briefs according to claim 3, in which said side panelseach have convex surfaces joined to said waistband, and in which saidarms of said rear panel define a concave edge along an upper edge ofsaid waistband.